editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Daniel Zwerdling is a correspondent in NPR's Investigations Unit.He's one of the best known and most acclaimed investigative journalists in America. Since Zwerdling joined NPR in 1980, his reports have repeatedly attracted national attention and generated national action. Along the way, they've won every major award in broadcasting.In late 2015, for example, the Secretary of the Army agreed to launch a top level investigation after Zwerdling reported (in collaboration with Colorado Public Radio) that the Army has kicked out tens of thousands of troops after they came back from the wars with mental health problems or brain injuries. Early the same year, Zwerdling's five-part series revealed that more nursing workers get debilitating back and arm injuries than any other occupation, and those injuries are caused mainly by lifting and moving patients. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced soon afterward that the NPR series spurred them to launch the first federalNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Daniel ZwerdlingSat, 03 Dec 2016 09:14:17 +0000Daniel Zwerdlinghttp://wcqs.org
Daniel ZwerdlingAn Army review concludes that commanders did nothing wrong when they kicked out more than 22,000 soldiers for misconduct after they came back from Iraq or Afghanistan – even though all of those troops had been diagnosed with mental health problems or brain injuries.The Army's report, ordered by Secretary Eric Fanning, seeks to reassure members of Congress that it's treating wounded soldiers fairly. But senators and military specialists say the report troubles them."I don't think the Army understands the scope of this problem," says Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. "And I don't think they've conveyed the seriousness to get it right."The Army's report is "unbelievable," says psychiatrist Judith Broder. "It's just bizarre." Broder was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Obama for organizing the Soldiers Project, a network of hundreds of psychotherapists and others who help troops and their families.NPR asked Fanning for an interview, but he declined and sent a statement: Senators, Military Specialists Say Army Report On Dismissed Soldiers Is Troublinghttp://wcqs.org/post/army-contests-npr-investigation-dismissed-soldiers-misleading-report
58748 as http://wcqs.orgThu, 01 Dec 2016 10:09:00 +0000Senators, Military Specialists Say Army Report On Dismissed Soldiers Is TroublingDaniel ZwerdlingIt's not just football players or troops who fought in the wars who suffer from brain injuries. Researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in the U.S. get potentially serious brain injuries every year, too. Yet they and even their doctors often don't know it.One such doctor is Bryan Arling, an internist in Washington, D.C. His peers often vote to put him on those lists of "top doctors," published by glossy magazines.So it's ironic that the brain injury he failed to diagnose was his own. And he could have died from it.Last spring, Arling went looking for some files in his walk-up attic. It was jammed with boxes of Christmas tree ornaments, old clothes and other odds and ends that define decades of family life. After an hour of searching, he found the files in a box, grabbed the folders and stood up. He then felt a shooting pain in the center of his back."It's a pain I've had before," says Arling, who has battled back problems for years. "But it was more intenseHow A Simple Bump Can Cause An Insidious Brain Injuryhttp://wcqs.org/post/how-simple-bump-can-cause-insidious-brain-injury
44806 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 06 Jan 2016 18:04:04 +0000How A Simple Bump Can Cause An Insidious Brain InjuryDaniel ZwerdlingThe acting secretary of the Army, Eric Fanning, promises to conduct a "thorough, multidisciplinary review" to determine whether thousands of combat soldiers with mental health problems or traumatic brain injuries have been unfairly kicked out of the Army for misconduct.His promise — in a letter to members of the U.S. Senate dated Nov. 30 but released Thursday — comes after NPR and Colorado Public Radio reported that commanders have dismissed more than 22,000 troubled combat troops since 2009 instead of helping them.The week after our story ran, a dozen U.S. senators wrote a letter to the Army demanding a full investigation. The written response from Fanning declares: "The decision to separate a Soldier from the Army for any reason is not an easy one. ... I appreciate the concerns you raised in your letter and take them very seriously."Fanning says the Army will assemble "a team of senior Army leaders," including its inspector general as the senators requested."We will follow up withArmy Says It Will Review Cases Of Dismissed Soldiers With Mental Health Problemshttp://wcqs.org/post/army-says-it-will-review-cases-dismissed-soldiers-mental-health-problems
43545 as http://wcqs.orgFri, 04 Dec 2015 16:46:00 +0000Army Says It Will Review Cases Of Dismissed Soldiers With Mental Health ProblemsThe U.S. Army has kicked out more than 22,000 soldiers since 2009 for "misconduct," after they returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and were diagnosed with mental health disorders and traumatic brain injuries. That means many of those soldiers are not receiving the crucial treatment or retirement and health care benefits they would have received with an honorable discharge.The Army has taken these actions despite a 2009 federal law designed to ensure that troops whose mental illness might be linked to the wars aren't cast aside.That's the finding of a joint investigation by NPR and Colorado Public Radio that listened to hours of secret recordings, looked at hundreds of pages of confidential military documents and interviewed dozens of sources both inside and outside the base.One of the Army's top officials who oversee mental health, Lt. Col. Chris Ivany, told NPR and CPR that the Army is not violating the spirit of the 2009 law by dismissing those soldiers for misconduct.He says theThousands Of Soldiers With Mental Health Disorders Kicked Out For 'Misconduct'http://wcqs.org/post/thousands-soldiers-mental-health-disorders-kicked-out-misconduct
41874 as http://wcqs.orgThu, 29 Oct 2015 02:38:19 +0000Thousands Of Soldiers With Mental Health Disorders Kicked Out For 'Misconduct'Daniel ZwerdlingStaff Sgt. Eric James, an Army sniper who served two tours in Iraq, paused before he walked into a psychiatrist's office at Fort Carson, Colo. It was April 3, 2014. James clicked record on his smartphone, and then tucked the phone and his car keys inside his cap as he walked through the door to the chair by the therapist's desk.As he sat there sharing his fears and telling the therapist he'd been thinking about suicide — all while secretly recording the entire session — James was inadvertently helping to bring a problem within the Army to light: As it tries to deal with thousands of soldiers who misbehave after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and then being diagnosed with mental health disorders and traumatic brain injuries, the military sometimes moves to kick them out of the service rather than provide the treatment they need.The Army tried to dismiss James in 2013, because he had been stopped for drunken driving two years earlier. This despite pledges by Army commanders and aMissed Treatment: Soldiers With Mental Health Issues Dismissed For 'Misconduct' http://wcqs.org/post/missed-treatment-soldiers-mental-health-issues-dismissed-misconduct
41866 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 28 Oct 2015 21:43:12 +0000Missed Treatment: Soldiers With Mental Health Issues Dismissed For 'Misconduct' Daniel ZwerdlingCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: A new study of veterans from the Vietnam War has troubling implications for troops who have fought much more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. The study suggests that while it's been 40 years since the Vietnam War ended, hundreds of thousands of those vets still struggle every day with mental health problems linked to their war experiences. Here's NPR's Daniel Zwerdling.DANIEL ZWERDLING, BYLINE: Researchers have been studying Vietnam veterans longer than they've studied anybody else who's fought in wars. Congress has ordered these studies to find out how war affects soldiers over their whole lives. Charles Marmar led the latest look at almost 2000 vets. He's chairman of the psychiatry department at the NYU medical school. He says, first, let's focus on the encouraging findings. Seventy to 75 percent of the Vietnam vets they studied have never suffered mental illness linked to the war. They did not get PTSD or depression. TheyVietnam War Study Raises Concerns About Veterans' Mental Healthhttp://wcqs.org/post/vietnam-war-study-raises-concerns-about-veterans-mental-health
37572 as http://wcqs.orgFri, 24 Jul 2015 21:27:00 +0000Vietnam War Study Raises Concerns About Veterans' Mental HealthDaniel ZwerdlingThe federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will announce Thursday that it's going to crack down on hospitals, for the first time ever, to prevent an epidemic of back and arm injuries among nursing employees.Nurses and nursing assistants suffer more of those debilitating injuries than any other occupation, and those injuries are caused mainly by moving and lifting patients.As NPR reported earlier this year in a five-part series, Injured Nurses, many of those workers end up having grueling operations and quitting their jobs. Yet, most hospitals have done little to prevent the injuries — even though studies show they could.OSHA chief David Michaels described his agency's new program to NPR in an exclusive interview.The public more typically hears about OSHA when the agency goes after factories where workers' arms got cut off, or construction sites where the scaffolds collapsed. But now, Michaels says, OSHA's inspectors will investigate what hospitals are doing toOSHA Launches Program To Protect Nursing Employeeshttp://wcqs.org/post/osha-launches-program-protect-nursing-employees
36160 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 24 Jun 2015 21:07:00 +0000OSHA Launches Program To Protect Nursing EmployeesDaniel ZwerdlingBernard Valencia's room in the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., illustrates how hospitals across the country could fight a nationwide epidemic. As soon as you enter the room, you can see one of the main strategies: A hook hangs from a metal track that runs across the ceiling.This isn't some bizarre way of fighting hospital-acquired infections or preventing the staff from getting needle sticks. The contraption is a ceiling hoist designed to lift and move patients with a motor instead of muscle.As NPR has reported in our investigative series Injured Nurses, nursing employees suffer more debilitating back and other injuries than almost any other occupation — and they get those injuries mainly from doing the everyday tasks of lifting and moving patients.But the Loma Linda hospital is part of a nationwide health care system that is proving hospitals can dramatically reduce the rate of injuries caused by lifting — if administrators are willing to invest the timeAt VA Hospitals, Training And Technology Reduce Nurses' Injurieshttp://wcqs.org/post/va-hospitals-training-and-technology-reduce-nurses-injuries
30505 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 25 Feb 2015 21:33:00 +0000At VA Hospitals, Training And Technology Reduce Nurses' InjuriesDaniel ZwerdlingThe case of Terry Cawthorn and Mission Hospital, in Asheville, N.C., gives a glimpse of how some hospital officials around the country have shrugged off an epidemic.Cawthorn was a nurse at Mission for more than 20 years. Her supervisor testified under oath that she was "one of my most reliable employees."Then, as with other nurses described this month in the NPR investigative series Injured Nurses, a back injury derailed Cawthorn's career. Nursing employees suffer more debilitating back and other body injuries than almost any other occupation, and most of those injuries are caused by lifting and moving patients.But in Cawthorn's case, administrators at Mission Hospital refused to acknowledge her injuries were caused on the job. In fact, court records, internal hospital documents and interviews with former hospital medical staff suggest that hospital officials often refused to acknowledge that the everyday work of nursing employees frequently injures them. And Mission is not unique. NPRHospital To Nurses: Your Injuries Are Not Our Problemhttp://wcqs.org/post/injured-nurses-case-symptom-industry-problems
30148 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 18 Feb 2015 20:51:00 +0000Hospital To Nurses: Your Injuries Are Not Our ProblemDaniel ZwerdlingScientists say nurses like Sunny Vespico are prime examples of what nursing schools and hospitals are doing wrong: They keep teaching nursing employees how to lift and move patients in ways that could inadvertently result in career-ending back injuries.Vespico, a registered nurse, was working the night shift in the intensive care unit at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia on March 31, 2012. At roughly 12:30 a.m., a large patient was having trouble breathing, so Vespico and a nursing assistant moved her to a special air bed designed for patients with respiratory problems."Immediately I felt a pop in my back and pain down my leg," Vespico says. "As a nurse, and understanding the mechanics of the body, I knew that there was something very wrong."An MRI confirmed it: She had herniated one of her discs. And so began a saga of excruciating pain and months off from work."I am 36 years old," Vespico says. "I've had three surgeries over the last two years. And only now, after the thirdEven 'Proper' Technique Exposes Nurses' Spines To Dangerous Forceshttp://wcqs.org/post/even-proper-technique-exposes-nurses-spines-dangerous-forces
29825 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 11 Feb 2015 21:55:00 +0000Even 'Proper' Technique Exposes Nurses' Spines To Dangerous ForcesDaniel ZwerdlingWhen Tove Schuster raced to help a fellow nurse lift a patient at Crozer-Chester Medical Center near Philadelphia in March 2010, she didn't realize she was about to become a troubling statistic.While working the overnight shift, she heard an all-too-common cry: "Please, I need help. My patient has fallen on the floor."The patient was a woman who weighed more than 300 pounds. So Schuster did what nursing schools and hospitals across the country teach: She gathered a few colleagues, and they lifted the patient as a team."I had her legs — a corner of one of the legs, anyway," says Schuster, who was 43 years old at the time. "And as we swung her up onto the bed, I felt something pop. And I went 'ooo.' "She finished the shift in pain and drove straight home to bed.But after Schuster woke up late that afternoon, her husband, Matt, heard her shouting. He says he ran to the bedroom and found her crawling across the floor. "I thought it was a joke at first," he says. "And she says, 'I can'tHospitals Fail To Protect Nursing Staff From Becoming Patientshttp://wcqs.org/post/hospitals-fail-protect-nursing-staff-becoming-patients
29470 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 04 Feb 2015 21:27:00 +0000Hospitals Fail To Protect Nursing Staff From Becoming PatientsDaniel ZwerdlingThe mass shooting at Fort Hood, the second at the same Army base in just five years, is renewing questions about the state of mental health treatment on U.S. military bases.New Shooting Revives Old Questions About Mental Health In Militaryhttp://wcqs.org/post/new-shooting-revives-old-questions-about-mental-health-military
16204 as http://wcqs.orgThu, 03 Apr 2014 20:40:00 +0000New Shooting Revives Old Questions About Mental Health In MilitaryDaniel ZwerdlingState officials in West Virginia say that in most areas, they can no longer detect any of the industrial chemical MCHM that spilled into the water supply recently. They say the water is safe for people to drink and use — including most pregnant women. But other public health specialists say they don't trust these assurances."I think there's no way to know what the safe levels of the chemicals are at this point," says Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the state's largest public health department. He's in charge of protecting 250,000 people whose water was affected by the spill.No matter what federal and state officials say, Gupta says his own family doesn't trust the water supply. The water in his home still has a chemical smell like licorice, he says.He and his wife, who is also a physician, have two teenage sons."They have decided not to drink the water at this time," Gupta says. "I have personally tried to drink the water. The smell just ... prevents me from drinking the water,Weeks Later, More Questions Than Answers In W.Va. Chemical Spillhttp://wcqs.org/post/weeks-later-more-questions-answers-wva-chemical-spill
13555 as http://wcqs.orgFri, 31 Jan 2014 08:01:00 +0000Weeks Later, More Questions Than Answers In W.Va. Chemical SpillDaniel ZwerdlingTop commanders in the U.S. Army have announced publicly that they have a problem: They have too many "toxic leaders" — the kind of bosses who make their employees miserable. Many corporations share a similar problem, but in the Army's case, destructive leadership can potentially have life or death consequences. So, some Army researchers are wondering if toxic officers have contributed to soldiers' mental health problems.One of those researchers is Dave Matsuda. In 2010, then-Brig. Gen. Pete Bayer, who was supervising the Army's drawdown in Iraq, asked Matsuda to study why almost 30 soldiers in Iraq had committed or attempted suicides in the past year."We got to a point where we were exceptionally frustrated by the suicides that were occurring," Bayer says. "And quite honestly feeling — at least I was — helpless to some degree that otherwise good young men and women were taking their lives."Matsuda might seem like an unconventional choice to study Army suicides. He's an anthropologist;Army Takes On Its Own Toxic Leadershttp://wcqs.org/post/army-takes-its-own-toxic-leaders
12608 as http://wcqs.orgMon, 06 Jan 2014 22:27:00 +0000Army Takes On Its Own Toxic LeadersDaniel ZwerdlingThere are two important things that you learn about Michael Zusman, baker and co-author of The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home, when you bake with him.First, his real job has nothing to do with bread or writing recipes: He's a trial judge. "Full time," Zusman says. "Wear a black robe every day." Zusman presides from the bench in Portland, Ore. He handles drug cases, small claims disputes over shoddy car repairs, fights between landlords and tenants, and other daily battles that overload America's legal system. But he had a few days off and visited Washington, D.C. And Zusman made some of the best bialys I've ever had, right in my own kitchen.In case you've never had a bialy, it looks like a miniature pizza, topped with roasted onions and poppy seeds. Bagels are far more famous in the annals of Eastern European Jewish cooking, but plenty of people feel passionate about bialys. They got their name as a favorite food in Bialystok, a major city in what's now Poland.Zusman and his co-authorA Judge's Cookbook Reveals The Secrets Of Bialys And Bagelshttp://wcqs.org/post/judges-cookbook-reveals-secrets-bialys-and-bagels
12385 as http://wcqs.orgTue, 31 Dec 2013 20:26:00 +0000A Judge's Cookbook Reveals The Secrets Of Bialys And BagelsDaniel Zwerdlinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqWuioPHhz0 This is the fourth story in our four-part series examining your digital trail and who potentially has access to it. It was co-reported by G.W. Schulz from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Yesterday, we examined your Fourth Amendment rights and how some believe the digital age has weakened them. Today we see how government officials and private attorneys can use your online data in politics and courtrooms.Here's a question for the digital age: If you are one of those people who say, "I've done nothing wrong; I've got nothing to hide," do you have any reason to worry that someone might try to use your digital records against you?We posed that question to John Dean, a man who has become immortalized in U.S. history books as President Richard Nixon's White House lawyer. His answer: "Think about the Nixon Enemies List.""If Richard Nixon were alive today and in office," Dean says, "I'd have great concern about the data that's being collected.Your Digital Trail: Data Fuels Political And Legal Agendashttp://wcqs.org/post/your-digital-trail-data-fuels-political-and-legal-agendas
8656 as http://wcqs.orgThu, 03 Oct 2013 19:03:00 +0000Your Digital Trail: Data Fuels Political And Legal AgendasDaniel ZwerdlingThis is the third story in our four-part series examining your digital trail and who potentially has access to it. It was co-reported by G.W. Schulz from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Yesterday, we examined how data-tracking companies are monitoring your online behavior. Today we look at your Fourth Amendment rights.Science-fiction writers have fantasized for years about the government monitoring everything we do. For example, there's a classic scene in the 2002 movie The Bourne Identity, which portrays young government agents glued to computer monitors in a crowded room. In seconds, they are able to track almost everywhere Jason Bourne, the main character, has been and where he's going — his flights, train trips and hotels.One agent gets a photo of Bourne talking to a woman in an alley from a surveillance camera hundreds of miles away. Almost instantly, they identify her, apparently using facial recognition software, and pull up the digital records of her life — includingYour Digital Trail: Does The Fourth Amendment Protect Us?http://wcqs.org/post/your-digital-trail-does-fourth-amendment-protect-us
8601 as http://wcqs.orgWed, 02 Oct 2013 17:03:00 +0000Your Digital Trail: Does The Fourth Amendment Protect Us?Daniel ZwerdlingThis is the second story in our four-part series examining your digital trail and who potentially has access to it. It was co-reported by G.W. Schulz from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Yesterday, we examined how data can be collected as you go through your everyday life. Today we look at how data-tracking companies are monitoring your online behavior.While news reports have focused on the National Security Administration and its efforts to monitor people's phone calls and online activities, private companies you have probably never heard of are also tracking what you are doing, just about everywhere you leave a digital footprint.So, who has access to the personal information you put online? To begin to answer that question, we examined what happens to the intimate information that millions of people share with online dating sites."I use Match.com and OKCupid," says Jithu Ramesh, as she joins a throng of 20- and 30-somethings at Busboys and Poets, a Washington, D.C., cafe.Your Digital Trail: Private Company Accesshttp://wcqs.org/post/your-digital-trail-private-company-access
8550 as http://wcqs.orgTue, 01 Oct 2013 18:03:00 +0000Your Digital Trail: Private Company AccessDaniel ZwerdlingThis story is part of NPR's ongoing series about social entrepreneurs — people around the world who are dreaming up innovative ways to develop communities and solve social problems.If you walk into the lobby of the Soria Moria hotel near the famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, it probably won't strike you as a bold experiment in development and democracy. The Soria Moria, in the booming town of Siem Reap, is a three-star hotel with 38 rooms that is more cozy than fancy. It looks like a lot of hotels that cater to tourists: There's wicker furniture in the lobby, a rooftop bar serves margaritas, and the tile floors are spotless.But now ask the people who staff the Soria Moria to describe their jobs, and you will begin to understand why this hotel is different:"I work here as a receptionist," says Real Marideth, sitting behind the wooden counter. "I am the owner also.""I am food and beverage manager," says Eam Chandy, arranging buffet platters in the hotel's restaurant. "And the hotelAt Cambodia Hotel, The Workers Are The Bosshttp://wcqs.org/post/cambodia-hotel-workers-are-boss
4520 as http://wcqs.orgFri, 05 Jul 2013 20:25:00 +0000At Cambodia Hotel, The Workers Are The BossDaniel ZwerdlingYou might think that everything would have changed for the chemicals industry on April 16, 1947. That was the day of the Texas City Disaster, the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. A ship loaded with ammonium nitrate — the same chemical that appears to have caused the disaster last month in West, Texas — exploded. The ship sparked a chain reaction of blasts at chemical facilities onshore, creating what a newsreel at the time called "a holocaust that baffles description." Or you might think everything would have changed on Dec. 3, 1984. That was the day that the U.S.-owned Union Carbide pesticide plant on the edge of Bhopal, India, suddenly began to leak — spewing a cloud of deadly gas over the city. By all accounts, thousands of people died; the Indian government never made an accurate count. Union Carbide paid $470 million damages.Or you might think the chemical industry would have been forced to reform after March 23, 2005, when an explosion at a BP refinery in Texas CityAfter Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Actionhttp://wcqs.org/post/after-deadly-chemical-plant-disasters-theres-little-action
2222 as http://wcqs.orgFri, 17 May 2013 19:11:00 +0000After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action